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If Microsoft proposes a scheme, you can bet that competitors will oppose it. Indeed, a number of competitors think .NET is Microsoft's way of controlling Web applications the same way the company controls desktop applications.

What's the alternative? No company has as extensive a set of tools and protocols, but several companies are working on different components. Folks from BEA, IBM, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and many of the leaders in server-based applications are building programs that are based on industry standards and work well together.

The most interesting recent development is on the peer-to-peer side. Project JXTA, which was started by Sun Microsystems, is a collection of low-level protocols for building peer-to-peer applications. Think of it as an operating system for peer-to-peer communications. The technology has three main concepts: grouping nodes together, so people can talk in small groups; piping, so the output of one service or node can reach another service; and metering and monitoring. It's all tied together with a security layer.

JXTA is different from .NET, because it's completely focused on peer-to-peer applications and is an open-source protocol; all the code is distributed under an Apache-style license. And it's different from the P2P working group headed by Intel, because Sun Microsystems is releasing unfinished work, hoping that other applications developers will contribute to it. The process is similar to the open, collaborative process that created Linux and Apache.

In short, JXTA is a cool idea that could provide a good alternative platform for the next generation of Web applications.

Michael J. Miller's Forward Thinking Blog: forwardthinking.pcmag.com
Michael J. Miller is chief information officer at Ziff Brothers Investments, a private investment firm. From 1991 to 2005, Miller was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine, responsible for the editorial direction, quality and presentation of the world's largest computer publication.
Until late 2006, Miller was the Chief Content Officer for Ziff Davis Media, responsible for overseeing the editorial positions of Ziff Davis's magazines, websites, and events. As Editorial Director for Ziff Davis Publishing since 1997, Miller took an active role in...
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